There’s been a few classic shoot-em-ups being released recently, a throwback to a bygone era where all you had to do was move your little sprite up/down/left/right and destroy whatever is in your way until you reached the end of a stage, then repeat the whole process again. Andro Dunos 2 is definitely something reminiscent of an old early 90’s classic arcade shmup.
Andro Dunos 2 is effectively the sequel to an early nineties title called Andro Dunos. Scrolling shoot’em ups were popular in the early nineties and Andro Dunos was actually a Neo Geo (remember that) game. Andro Dunos 2 takes on the Andro Dunos mantle and throws you into classic side scrolling shooting mayhem. You would have played similar titles before, basically you and your ship take on multiple enemies that fly onto screen from several directions until you reach a boss. Your ship can navigate across screen whilst you have a choice of different weapons to use, each useful in their own right.
Your ship can utilise 3 different kind of weapons which you switch between at any time. You’ll be glad to know there are loads of power-ups that will help you along your way. There are seven reasonably long stages to get through, with the expected boss appearing at the end. As you progress in Andro Dunos 2, you are able to collect blue orbs which can be used to improve your ship and/or weaponry. The more orbs you collect (there are 30) then the better you can level up your ship. The bosses in Andro Dunos 2 follow the same kind of attack patterns so they’re quite easy to overcome once you start recognising these patterns. Andro Dunos 2 is not an easy game though, there is a lot happening on screen so it’s important to keep calm as explosions and projectiles fly everywhere.
Visually, Andro Dunos 2 is a step up on the original. It resembles a modern remake while staying very close to the originals spritely ships. The stages are varied enough to be noticeable, some of the stages require you to move down diagonally and other times usually around boss fights you can’t just stay on one side of the screen. The explosions are plentiful whilst there is a whole range of colourful things happening on screen. Audibly Andro Dunos 2 sounds great, engaging exciting soundtrack backed up by some loud explosions and high pitched laser noises. Once you’ve completed Andro Dunos 2 there isn’t really any need to go back to replay it, Andro Dunos 2 can be completed in a couple of hours depending on your level of skill.
Andro Dunos 2 is a homage to side scrolling shoot’em ups and does most things well, the weaponry options are particularly impressive. So if you’re looking for some high octane action over a short period you won’t go far wrong with Andro Dunos 2. Unfortunately there isn’t much depth to Andro Dunos 2 in terms of modes so once you’ve completed it you won’t replay it.
